In his Handbook for String Quartet Players, the famous critic Wilhelm Altmann writes:
"Carl Reinecke’s String Quartet No.4 in D Major, Op.211 appeared in 1891. It is a pleasing, well-written, amiable work which plays well and sounds good. Overall, one hears echoes of Schumann. The first movement begins with an atmospheric Lento introduction which leads to good natured Allegro. The second movement, Adagio ma non troppo, is song-like and sounds a bit Brahmsian. A charming Scherzo, vivace man non troppo, quasi Allegretto follows, and the pizzicato episodes are particularly effective. The finale is a very appealing Allegro giojoso which once again features particularly telling use of pizzicato."
Nowadays, Carl Reinecke (1824-1910) has been all but forgotten, an unjust fate for a man who excelled in virtually every musical field with which he was involved. As a performer, Reinecke was, during the mid-19th century, reckoned for three decades as one of the finest concert pianists before the public. As a composer, he produced widely respected and often performed works in every genre running the gamut from opera, to orchestral to chamber music. As a conductor, he helped turn the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. into a group with few if any peers. As its director, he helped the Leipzig Conservatory become what was widely regarded as the finest in the world. As a teacher of composition and of piano, he was considered to have few if any equals. Among his many students were Grieg, Bruch, Janáček, Albeniz, Sinding, Svendsen, Reznicek, Delius, Arthur Sullivan, George Chadwick, Ethel Smyth, Felix Weingartner, Karl Muck and Hugo Riemann. In his time, Reinecke and his music were unquestionably regarded as first rate.
